#he comes and goes but i very much consider kayne to be part of the party

[gyooza]

I think it's beautiful that malevolent is one of the few stories where the big bad gets to be part of the gang simply because no one can do anything about it

[ma1dmer]

League of Legends - Kayn NSFW

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex): he is up and on the move the second you two are done, he’ll tease you if you complain

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s): considering he thinks his body as the ultimate weapon i find it hard to think he would have any particular preference on himself, its the strength he has ,that he likes, the strength to lift you up or bend you to any position he desires. on his partner i can see him as liking some sort of muscle definition , the proof of strength and commitment ,wether thats on your arms, or thighs or abs, he wants to see the flex of the muscle beneath as he is pounding into you.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person): he is kind of a dick when it comes to well, his cum, he will pull out his cock while you give him head purely to get it on your face, enjoying marking you up and then bending down to kiss you despite the mess.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs): i think Kayn is a bit of a masochist, would get excited when you pull out a knife on him ,pushing forward for you to dig the blade into his skin, challenging you to hurt him as he captures your lips and helps you drag the blade slowly down his skin until he is panting and groaning against your mouth.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?): has his fair share of conquests, but none of them matter when it comes to being with someone new, it helps his confidence, but half the fun for him is figuring out what makes the other person crack ,their weak spots etc

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual): he wants you folded up, your body tense, as he presses your knees to your chest and puts his weigh on you for example.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc): he can be playful, the kind of playful where you two are playfighting for example but would much prefer hear you moan during sex rather than laugh.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.): he probably doesn't care much for shaving anything, he isn't that hairy and sees no point in it.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…): not very romantic, he is definitely smooth and awfully cocky with his words, calling you names and giving you the exact amount of attention and teasing to make you want him, but he isn't exactly romantic.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon): i think he wouldn't find much pleasure into jacking off, would prefer much more having a body beneath or above him rather than pitifully have to deal with his needs himself. //i don’t think Rhaast would be very pleased on this either

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks): sadomasochism, dirty talking, knife play, blood play, choking etc

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do): he is not particularly picky with where he is willing to have you, he only needs the cover of shadows, he is always ready to pull you into a corner and you better be quiet.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going): challenging him in any way, it’s the excitement of having to conquer you all over again, he wants someone with fire to truly enjoy himself.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs): can't see him as being unwilling to at least try some things, with the right person it all works for him.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc): he has an awfully skilled tongue for someone that wants you to earn him going down on you. obviously prefers when you are between his legs , his hand fisted through your hair promising to return the favour in earnest if you let him finish down your throat.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.): fast and rough he wants your legs wobbling when he is done with you.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.): most of your encounters are quickies, he'll come seek you out throughout the day or right before you are about to fall asleep.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.): very into risk taking and needs someone that can match him in this aspect.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…): //Rhaast takes over when he gets tired

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?): he is very selfish in this aspect, wants you to think of him and only him and to use him and only him. doesn’t he fuck you properly or are you just that horny that you can’t get sated by just him, how naughty.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease): absolutely ,he wants to have you frustrated, he wants this power trip of having you beg for him or cussing him out because he is making you feel like this.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make): for someone who works so much in the shadows, he sure is loud, his moans are also very whiney ,his voice cracking the closer to finishing he gets.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice): he is a total bratty switch with the right person, sometimes he just needs someone to take control from him and make him forget the darkin and all the bloodshed. //spreading my propaganda one league of legends man at a time

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words): his cock is very pretty, a nice and pleasing average ,a bit on the longer side.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?): when he has a goal in mind ,he will achieve it no matter what, the same goes for his needs, if he wants you, he will come get you, usually after a successful battle when his blood still runs hot.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards): I can't really see him as someone that stays the night, the night is where he is the most active so he'll give you a passionate kiss to make sure you are thinking of him all day and leave with the promise of being back and to not miss him too much.

[fridayyy-13th]

sooo i hear you finished malevolent

indeed i did!! holy shit!!! it was amazing! and now i can finally unblock the “Malevolent spoilers” tag!

various thoughts (i have many but here’s a handful):

listening to the first episode, after John asked Arthur to look in the mirror and said he had the demeanor of someone not to be fucked with, i thought “…i’m sorry but no. this man is a sad wet cat. get him a warm blanket”

speaking of part 1, i was listening to it in the backseat of a car with headphones in so that was a game of turning up the volume to hear dialogue over the road sounds and turning it down to not demolish my eardrums when John shouted

by the time i was wrapping up part 4, i started to wonder if “John Doe” was a name the fandom made up for him, but when he explained to Arthur that he really liked the name and wanted to be called that…my heart absolutely melted. can you tell John’s my favorite? he’s my favorite :)

the one bit where Arthur is asked questions directly tied to everything that had happened since being bound with John? fucking impeccable. i would’ve said “ohh shit” aloud if i weren’t in public at the time

at some point i saw a post about someone taking an empty wrapping paper tube and mimicking John’s “Arthur!”

i tried it

it very much worked

i was promptly ecstatic due to this revalation. the tube wasn’t empty but it still worked great lol

speaking of John’s “Arthur!,” the way his tone shifted from part 1 vs part 28 still makes me emotional. holy shit

Kayne! what a guy. motherfucker. i had glimpsed some fanart of him eating popcorn or something before reaching part 28 so when i heard crunching in the background of That Part i was just like “ah. that’s why. Goddammit.” he’s a lot of fun and i like him a lot

ough hearing Yellow alongside Larson. Fear. excitement for what that means for the story, but also Fear.

during my binge i was working on a lego set i got for Christmas, of the house from Home Alone, and i legitimately nearly cried while hunched over that lego set when Arthur played Faroe’s Song right before John came back

and speaking of John coming back! Kayne said he had some sort of ulterior motive! what the heck! i haven’t seen much in the way of theories yet but John’s slip-up about being gone for a long time, i definitely don’t think he’s telling the truth. that said, i don’t think he wants to hurt Arthur in any way. especially considering he was trying his damndest to save him during that entire conversation

the piano strings guy. holy shit. what was he called? the butcher? absolutely terrifying, and now he’s coming after John and Arthur. fun!

the dynamic between Arthur and John is incredible. not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing (*vague gesture in their direction that does not explain what the third thing is*). they’re just Them. not to mention i nearly cried over the fact that before John named himself, when he and Arthur still didn’t like each other, Arthur still took to calling him “friend.” i’m shaking them like a pair of glowsticks.

absolutely cannot wait for part 29. i’m so excited to see where this story goes.

[playedbetter]

@veroxins said: not really a part of the headcanon meme but i'd love to hear more on your muses dissociative systems tbh !

You have no idea what you've just unleashed! Because it will drive me crazy if I don't I'll cover all my muses who I consider plural even if they don't fit into the typical framework. Also going to be working off of my expanded muse list which I'll be sharing the doc for sooner or later.

This is going to be long and discuss a lot of triggering topics so under the cut it goes.

Jean-Paul & Azrael (& Others)

They are a traumagenic osdd-1b system which was pro/grammed by their abusers, The Order of Saint Dumas. They were the victims of ram/coa (Ri/tual abuse, mind con/trol, & or/ganizationed abuse). However for safety and respect reasons their system's members are only drawn from comics or other experiences they have. If you look into it on your own, please be extremely careful, actual harm can come from researching ram/coa for survivors of it.

At any rate, for the majority of his life Jean-Paul was unaware of the system, and believed that the others in it only formed when he was an adult. However Azrael had formed when they were children as a protector and information holder, and Ascalon formed as a holder of a lot of the programming they received. Jean-Paul only recently as of my Canon learned Azrael originates from their childhood.

Jean-Paul learned after his father's death of the alias Azrael and took it up, unintentionally also letting Azrael take the reigns and becoming aware of them.

In adulthood they've as of current blog canon formed two more headmates. Azbats, who splintered from Azrael when they collectively became Batman. And The Voice That Binds, who formed from the trauma of being controlled and turned evil by Darkseid.

Ascalon, Azbats, and The Voice That Binds are currently dormant in the system meaning they aren't conscious and can't front (Have control of the body/forefront of the mind).

Also up until recently, Jean-Paul was a bad host. While he handled the outerworld alright, he kept Azrael under tight control and used Azrael as a scapegoat. They are in the process of both healing from that and trusting each other.

June Moone & Enchantress

While not a system they are plural as they share a body and mind. The closest to relevant terms for them would be spiritual plurality, and Enchantress would be considered a walk in (member that came from an external source) while June is the host.

They have a rather dysfunctional relationship with each other and fight for dominance over their life. However without the other their life would be a lot more empty.

This explanation and dynamic is pretty much the same on a surface level for Jason Blood & Etrigan, and Kayn & Rhaast.

Harvey Dent & Two Face

They are a traumagenic osdd-1b system that formed in adulthood after Harvey's infamous assault. Though the groundwork came from an abusive childhood. They both act as hosts and are prone to switching as a result of a coin flip.

Jeannette & Therese Voerman

They are a traumagenic D.I.D system that was formed in childhood due to horroriftic abuse and grooming and then exasperated when they were turned into a kindred.

They have a very tumultuous relationship with each other due to opposing personalities and political beliefs.

To the outside world they are known as a pair of feuding twin sisters, though their plurality is an open secret around L.A.

Lucien & Mollymauk & Kingsley

The circumstances of their plurality is unlike anything possible on earth. In modern verses they are a D.I.D system where only one headmate is active at one time as the host while any others that exist are permanently dormant.

Anders & Justice

They are another case of possession however do begin functioning like a more mundane system rather quickly. Anders being the regular host and Justice taking up the role of a protector. In modern verses they are a spiritual non disordered (so far as the plural part goes) system, where the system stuff does help them cope with trauma and mental illnesses.

Fun fact this description is the closest to my (the mun's) system.

Harrier Du Bois

He is a median system without a specific origin label. Being a median system most members of the system are more shallow than a typical person and could be described accurately as parts of Harry. Harry is also the only fronter.

Toko Fukawa & Syo

A thing to note is that Syo is not the spirit of the dead child of one of the body's mothers, but was partially formed due to the unique trauma they were subjected to due to being the maybe baby of both mothers.

They are a traumagenic D.I.D system formed in childhood due to bullying and abuse at home. Toko is original to the body Syo formed while they were in their childhood. Toko is the main host and Syo uses no role labels.

Also! Syo being a serial killer is very stereotypical of fictional deceptions of plurality (which has no real basis in reality), I lean mostly into when her character starts growing past that.

Hajime Hinata & Izuru Kamakura

They are a non-disordered system with an unspecified origin because how the hell do you explain becoming a whole separate person as a result of experimental brain surgery. After Izuru was created until the neo-world program Hajime was dormant, then for a while after the program Izuru was dormant and Hajime was in denial of being plural. Till eventually they manage to work things out and become co-hosts.

Yumeto Ariyoshi & Isami Kanda

Korekiyo Shinguji

They are a traumagenic OSDD-1B system that formed in Yumeto's childhood due to abuse from his father.

Isami is a factive of Izuru Kamakura, which in their case means their internal appearance is based off of Izuru, and they have a similar personality basis. They also picked their name on purpose to have the same initials. Isami is a protector, first from their dad, and then later from Hope's Peak.

Due to the twist of the game the actual origins of his plurality are unclear. By the backstory we know though they'd be a non-disordered thoughtform system, meaning that Korekiyo purposefully created a headmate, in this case, based off of his abusive older sister.

This is flat out the most dysfunctional system on the entire blog because Korekiyo is flat out being abused by the thoughtform and driven into becoming a serial killer by her. I straight up will not be playing her on this blog because that would be uncomfortable for everyone involved.

In any verse where he survives long enough to eventually start healing, Korekiyo dismisses the thoughtform and does not ever create any new ones.

Horuss Zahhak

I need to do more thinking on this but they are canonically plural, just in the worst way cause Hussie is the worst. They are likely a non-disordered endogenic system.

[rurifangirl]

Hello, my poor little meow meows reading this. I am fixated on this bitch and WILL talk about him.

All this is under the cut <3

‌Intro/Character implementation and concept aka this bitch

So, let's start off with his concept. Both him and Chime were initially described as having something very similar to what Jeyklll n Hyde had, so, you could guess what their dynamic could be even if you haven't played the game. And, it's true. While I'm not fully sure about Chime, Ruri IS a devil, and not only being already an unstable hybrid, but also being a dragon lord, meaning he'd be one of the closest hybrids to almost become a full dragon.

Chime's weak, while Ruri has a lot of strenght with him. They make one the other, with Ruri being the rougher, more violent side, that has overall little humanity to start with. Plus, Chisei, after abandoning Chime right in front of them, didn't really get the best reaction out of himself. Reason why he'd,, done what he's done.

While it's not excusable, we can't say It was out of the blue. Even if his reasoning Is twisted and cruel at times, he still can find a reason as to what he's done. Plus, it's true that Osho still did influence parts of him. While it's definetly not a case of "he did nothing wrong he was manipulated", since Ruri has enough maturity to reason by itself, though it still shows that his manipulation even worsened his conditions.

If Osho hadn't found Chime that night, not only Ruri would've probably not been there very much, but also wouldn't have had problems to think about. And yet, It still happened. Ruri wasn't thought about nothing, but if not a final obstacle. This Is also kind of proven in canon, since the most he uses out of him was a distraction, so he'd have more time to proceed with his plan, and his disappearence being more comedic than actually meaningful.

He wasn't meant as something big from the start. Just a rock on the side of a road. Which, Is infuriangly something that he didn't realize. And the reason why I changed it, fully. He was merely a puppet, that DID want to break free. The problem was that, he couldn't do anything but stay with Osho.

‌Later events in story/Ruri eventually meets the gang n others and gets drunk

Speaking of It, Osho does keep in contact with Ruri, especially considering the role he still has in the scheme of things. To attract Chisei and overall the gen brothers to their doom. Though, that wouldn't mean that he wouldn't have given him preassure. He most definetly, and to add on this cake even the loss of Kogure would actually influence him a lot more.

She and him had been close, whether It was because of their devil situation or not, they were very close. For Ruri,losing her would just add the cherry on top. He does show emotions, and even goes as far as to cry when he had left her to die.

So, for someone who was merely a toy, a puppet and something there just for Oshos twisted mind, It wasn't a good situation. Plus, he couldn't really have a voice in that. What could he say? He didn't even have a voice, he was a weapon. He was someone who merely would reach other's attentions, if not because of his plays.

Despite him being so powerful, he was yet so small. And this Is when, the gang eventually comes into the picture, and while they were there for affairs, It did bring something positive which we will talk about right after, which will be a very longer section.

‌The boys (1/2)

Oh, Kayn.

When he entered the picture,much changed. At first, Ruri didn't really think much of him, most he did notice were his ears and stature but, that was about It. Even in meetings, he wouldn't really talk too much, seeming to having an hard time keeping up with all topics. He'd try bring light of situation when needed, and It would lightly influence the dynamic they were in. Though, the thing that finnaly gets Ruri's attention, was when Kayn willingly decided to stay after their long reunion.

He didn't really have much a motive, at first though. In the beginning,It was more to understand what's already been discussed, and understanding more context. For one, Ruri was in it. Plus, he could feel something strangely just, warm coming from that person. So, he let him stay. After a while, him staying afterwards was more a motive for both to alienate themselves with whatever was happening.

They both needed distractions, and a way to even subdoly vent some of their thoughts, especially from Kayn's part. Though they didn't out loud admit It, they knew that It was rough on both parts. And It added onto their closness, going as far as to actually form a bond. They had one thing the other didn't have, and so, they compensated.

They were there to be in any help of the other, if It was needed. It'd grown very much on them, and from Kayn's part, It was heaven.

Of course, he didn't know the full story either. He didn't know what Ruri had done years earlier, or that he was a dragon lord, or that he was using Chimes body. In his mind, despite being a devil, he seemed chill, collected, and a very talented actor. He couldn't ask for more from him.

Though, with days passing, and still keeping that jokey aurea, he noticed a suddent shift in paths of behaviours. When Kayn had gotten out of his mind to reason like normal, if drunk or just tired, Ruri'd start saying stuff that, even if lucid couldn't comprehend.

He tried to let It go off, but had a very big gut feeling of what was going to happen. Kayn tried to get explenations, but for how vague Ruri's signals were, he couldn't do much. Which was why he even got more self concious, and tried to observe him more.

Unfortunatly, he couldn't get anything else, other than that charming persona that man put most of the time. And for one, Ruri was the most frightened out of the two.

he fucks up

Ruri's the most paranoid out of the two, mainly because he's the one fully knowing what's going to happen. And the full context with It, too. He feared getting attached to someone, especially after the loss of Kogure, and realizing that someone who he merely thought as just somebody was growing on him, made him both afraid and upset.

Afraid that Kayn will end up in her fate too, dying because of him and not being able to actually confess what he'd been feeling for the longest time. He was upset in himself for allowing someone, who didn't need to be there into an absurd story, and that he'd most likely got him killed by including him in his life. Ruri had no idea how to react, and on closed doors even had good portions of his day locked, not knowing how to do things now.

But not only that, but due to an attempt to justify his time spent with Kayn to Osho he'd promised him to pull him on their side, and to ensure his safety on the grand scheme of things. He was afraid, and didn't know what he was supposed to do. Continue with the plan he'd been following for such a long time, or finnaly be at peace and actually trying to understand if what he was doing was right or wrong.

Right or wrong? What did he want to do? And that's, where he does break, and not just in part like he'd been. His character becomes a lot more depended on searching what he wants to live for, manifesting some of his new behaviour paths even in front of Kayn himself.

Slowly, he'd start to crumble.

And with all that build up of emotions, endless situations and genuine fear, he'd now and only now show what he'd truly be capable of. And that's where, the whole Chisei stabbing thing came from. Events in this part of the story are pretty similar to canon events so, I will not go further in that.

‌The Mika and Kayn thing happeneds and he's fuckijg finnaly more self concious

Another thing before we go but, since the Mika thing should've happened in this period of time, I'll add a talk about It. So, for context, Mika Is 7's android, aka chaotics ocs, and at one point Ruri does get enraged and in an act, tries to kill 7. Mika gets in his way and they get killed instead.

Since I'm not sure where this fits anymore, I'll let this here. Still, what I've talked about previously does NOT excuse this, rather than just explaining what most definetly caused it. Still, turning back on track. After Ruri gets in full contact with Chisei, and reveals his dragon lord form, THAT'S when stuff goes down.

Because not only he's so close onto killing him, he accidentaly does one accidental thing that will change his percepition forever. For context, Kayn was supposed to be on a whole different side than what Chisei and supposedly Chime were supposed to meet, so with that said, he wasn't going to be there. He couldn't even have heard noises from that distance. And yet, because of Kayn's gut feeling, instead of reaching his position, he followed him. Also to make sure he'd be fine afterwards.

But that, only brought to Ruri instintevly stabbing him, only after realizing what he's done. In his point of view, this is the first time he'd ever reached such regret and despair over a single kill. While his other victims, despite crueler deaths, didn't bring that much reaction from him. Not even stabbing his own BROTHER brought anything but a little bit of satisfaction.

But that? What was that? He was completely panicked, at least that's how he'd felt. Ruri tried getting closet, and to somehow stop loss of blood, but was quite relieved when he heard steps on their way. He could've heard they were quite a bit, and decided to step back.

Before being circled, he made sure Kayn was in fact, being brought to take serious help. When he was taken away, that's when he made a sigh of relief. What happened later can only be imagined.

Despite how manu he'd slaughtered, and how he still survived despite his efforts, he wasn't satisfied. Nor was he calm at that point.

Though, most he could now do was waiting for Oshos new commands. He desperatly wanted to know what he was going to do next, even if that meant sacrificing himself further. Which, sort of happened.

Before fully going back in onto his old habits, he made sure throughout the dream realm that Kayn was actually okay. Or that at the very least was recovering, whether slowly or quickly didn't matter.

What mattered was that he was somewhere safe for him. After trying to contact him, but failing doing so, that's when he'd decided turning back in. As one of the conditions, he ensured again Kayn's safety, as he was unable to be reached. Osho agreed, as long as he wouldn't have interrupted their plans or, worked for Cassel right after recovery. And yet, Ruri agreed.

Even if It was down near impossible, if he could get him out of It, he'd been saved from what was going to happen next.

Of course, that's not what happened. And they get a moment of sort of reunion in the Well of Bones. I say sort of because it's,, not as sweet as you'd imagine.

You can't blame Kayn for It, he first heavly wounded him, vaguely leaving him messages, lying to him this whole time even if It was to protect him- he had many reasons to he upset. And Ruri had also many things to be ashamed of, and recognized that Kayn was in the right. Though, they definetly didn't have enough time to talk.

They needed action, as soon as possible. And that's when, they both decided to make an accord. If they could've worked togheter, mabye they could've done a bigger distraction for Osho, and even going as far as to kill him. Ruri for one, was sowhdhdkjd the most upset about It initally.

Despite how much of a bad influence he was, he still didn't know if to fully blame him for what happened. It was his fault he made this it such a big deal, and remotely belived that he kind of deserved it. In the end, he comes to terms that, he has to kill him in the end, sort of realizing that if he didn't, Osho would've done it. So, if he did, he would've tried to make It as painful as he could. I will cut the rest of the thing but, I will talk about one of their distractions.

So, in order to take both the gangs and Oshos attention, they thought about faking Kayn's death. So, from one part, the gang would rush up to him and he'd bring them away, thus also getting Oshos attention. And from that, Kayn could still try and sneak back, eventually giving Osho the last hit.

The reason why I'm bringin this up Is because, in order to do so, It'd have to be realistic enough. But mind you, Kayn was kinda fresh from recovery, and was still struggling with some coordination.

He could've still screamed, enough to seem realistic, but they needed another sound to confirm that Ruri did something to him. So, instead of actually hurting Kayn again, he asked him to bend over, so that he could seem to be on the floor.

And after that, started to scream like he only could. And boom, a loud crack from behind. Kayn could briefly look behind, as he was basically now on the floor, trying to look as dead as he could.

But he could've heard blood drops, and not from him. Basically, what happened was that in order to not hurt his darling again, Ruri decided to twist his arm, so that It would create a realistic crack that would get someone's attention. Reason why he could pull this off was that, thanks to his long sleeves, you could hardly see how his arm was doing, and considering It was already of a bloody colour, It would be hard to tell.

But anyways fasting foward because It'd be too long to talk about and I've already said a lot in this part so LET'S GO AFTER WHAT HAPPENDSSS.

‌Eventually Osho gets killed and Ruri thanks to Kayn's himbo ass doesn't get killed

When Kayn gets up again, he's pretty cheered on and reassured of what happened, Ruri on the other hand, and understandably so, didn't get the same approach. Instead, for some days he'd already been locked up, and this will actually not be the last time you'd see this. It was more out of catiousness, since he didn't seem to cooperate and was pretty unstable to begin with.

It was thought about killing him, before he could continue with his horrible crimes and put an end to the dragon lord's bloodlines, but that didn't work out when Kayn got back in the picture. Thruth was that, despite everything that'd happened, he still saw something in him.

Whether that'd been because of the times he'd pulled Kayn before himself, or how Ruri'd still tried to make things better for them both, to assure some kind of future. Even if he didn't want him back. So, after a multitude of things that later on happen, Ruri gets set free. Of course, that's under the gangs and especially Kayn's costudy. Oh boy, another pretty long topic Is also going to arrive.

‌'Recovery' +Lucian thing+ True recovery + The boys (2/2) Aka this Is an hell of words

Since his dynamic with Kayn Is understandably different, I'll talk about that in a bit. First off, before anything could really happen, let's just say Ruri was destroyed. Both mentally and physically.

Not only he was still kind of depended on Osho, and having betrayed him as much as to actually end his life, didn't have the best reaction out of him. In this period of time, he had much trouble doing the simplest stuff alone, thus Kayn staying by his side in case he'd need help to even get up. Yes, It was that terrible.

Ruri didn't even talk a lot, and that only fueled akwardness and just strange alienation on both parts. After some time, while he does physically recover, he didn't absolutely went up and got actual mental help.

Nor even wanted to do It. He thought It was better onto his own,a and masked what was going on with himself with just nonchalance and teasing others. Needless to say, this also influenced his relationship with others. Since idk what to say about lucians dynaic for now, I'll directly go for the boys.

During the period in which he hardly could do anything, they didn't really have the best relationship. It was hard for both onto accepting what happened, and despite Ruri's earlier attempts, Kayn wasn't still entirely sure whether to actually continue the relationship, or if he even did the right choise by saving him rather than leaving him to his doom. Ruri, on the other hand, while cracking sass whenever he recovered, didn't make the situation better.

In fact, he didn't really know how to start things again. He'd never thought he'd make it that far in the first place, and despite that shift of aurea, Ruri was still pretty frightened about the relationship.

For starters, he couldn't look into his eyes for long periods of time, as he just explained It was purely because he wanted to di so. In reality, It was because he didn't feel as worthy to even be nearby him. Another thing that made the situation worse, was that he was deadly terrified of hurting Kayn.

So, even if he'd accidentally touched him, It wouldn't take too much for him to get as much away to not break down in front of him. This period of fear and just, overall not knowing what to do, finnaly ends when Ruri gets finnaly mental help. Now, reason as to why he'd do that was, mainly his decision.

Though the situation he was in wasn't one of the best, It still made him realize something. He'd finnaly found something he wanted to live for. He realized how much he'd actually grown on both Kayn and sort of the gang. He felt something he'd never felt whenever he was with Osho.

He wanted to help them, stay with them, resolve what he'd done, and just an internal conflict. He still had that mindset shoved by Osho, and Ruri still didn't get away from it. As he got more and more self councious, he realized that what he was thinking was on all levels wrong.

And coming to terms with what you've always learned, what you were ready to die for, in favor for the opposite thing, isn't an easy task. In fact, It made him doubt pratically everything until that point.

While he knew that something will never change, nor that he deserved being fully redeemed and doing a 180°, he wanted to do something. Even if those who once loved him would've loathed him now, he understood. What he wanted now, was to ensure their safety. Thus, why he personally decided to get physiciatric help.

While sessions took much time, and at first he didn't do much progress, It did however help him a lot through realizing his wrongs, and to admit to them. While It did damage his ego, he decided to do so. This, Is when his relationship with others and Kayn slowly tries to reheal. Especially with those two, they started to feeling like they once did before all this chaos of problems and emotions. Though Ruri did not admit It, he was falling in love yet again. They'd decided to work togheter on their wrongs, since Kayn too wasn't really the bestest in that moment, and he's mature enough to realize that. But at least, they were doing It togheter. Even if their trust was very damaged, they worked onto reconstucting it.

Though, keep in mind this process does take much time, and before they could even confess onto eachother or be a lot closet, even intimately, It'll take much. But, still better than never. Kayn would also make sure Ruri would get an hold of himself, making sure he's taking enough doses of Cassel's drug that kept bloodrage from going too far, and generally being done the same if needed.

Even if I'm talking about them quite a lot, both him and Kayn grow a lot closet to the gang's members. They have many more moments, even emotional at times, because they're still pretty much family.

Ruri Is definetly viewed different than any other member, for obvious reasons, and he doesn't blame that. Though, all this help overall did make his reactions a lot more controlled, and almost moundane if it wasn't for some of them.

Plus, when he finnaly got onto with Kayn, officially that is, he was definetly doing better than he'd ever did. Thus, he didn't really need to see Chisei anymore, as the only thought of that would've bringed, not so much kind stuff. At one point, he did go and confronted Chime itself, since if I haven't said already, they now have differeny bodies and lives. He listened to everything he'd have to say, and some things hitting him more than others.

He didn't interrupt, nor say that what he was feeling was wrong. He hardly ever seen him since, not because Ruri didn't want so, but because It was better off for chime's sanity and recovery. After that, things worked most of the time out. Yes, some things ESPECIALLY with 7 didn't, but he was okay with that.

‌Conclusion I swear it's almost done meow meows

Now,onto our conclusion. As we've seen, Ruri didn't come from any of a good place. Having been raised by Osho wasn't surerly something any good for him and his views, and getting so close to them almost got him into his death. Only, after getting to know the gang and falling in love yet again brings him any kind of conciousness. In fact, when he does realize It, it doesn't go too well.

At first, It brings him pain, now having two choises, and not only one he could've just chosen and signed his fate. And yet, he doubted if what he's been living for was the right thing to do. If he wanted to do It, or felt obligated by all this preassure on him, to become an useful weapon and after dying, merely being remembered. Was this what he wanted to do?

Plus, i hope i didn't give this idea while writing in the essay, but no. Ruri Is not innocent and please don't view him as such. He did horrible things, and while I didn't go in details since It would be even more long, he doesn't deserve forgiveness by anyone.

Especially from people like 7 or Chime. The point of this, was to illustrate that while flawed, he genuenly wanted to grow as a character. He decided to get help because that's what he thought was the right thing, he realized how wrong he was this whole time and felt guilty of everything he'd ever done. He's a character before anything else. The attempt Is there, and the execution was pretty positive.

Even to this day, he's got a lot to learn, and some attachments to Oshos old ideology to get rid of. Though he's not the only one influenced, he was the one fucked up more than most. But, he's trying his best. He knows things will never be normal, and it's alright.

As long as he knows that it's what he wanted, it's okay.

He'd gone a long way ahead, and since it's still on going, it's safe to say that this won't be the end. Nor for his relationships or, in general what he's going to be like.

IF YOU'VE DONE THIS SO FAR I

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY ILY WHJDKD

And im hell sorry for this hell of words, but It had to be done 😭😭

Tags:

@spoopy-fish-writes @a-chaotic-dumbass @anonymousgeekhere @nadi-117 @dopesaladlady @infra-jaded @damnfoxx @softlytally

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

Immortal Astral Goat Psychology

Welp, if I am not shitposting or RPing I might as well go into some fine astral-goat-psychology right now. I have been awake for what might been close to 40 hours now with that 11 hour flight crossing 9 different timezones and another good six hours to complete the travel and now just having downed some sugary caffeine beverage so I can hold out for maybe three more hours so I can keep my sleep rythm somehow intact.

Best time to make a lenghty in-depht headcanon-post, alright? I will probably collapse after finishing this delirious write-up but then it’s a complete breakdown with a slight hint of feeling accomplished. Gotta take what you can get, right?

For some reason I have always tended towards the “not-exactly-human-immortal” sort of characters. Things that resemble humans and even like them or some aspects of them very much to the point they’d like to be one even though that is a task they’d never accomlish, their timeless nature being part of the reasons. Always wondered why I gravitated towards such designs, now I know it’s my own fucked-up brain so yeah this might also just be me projecting my own mental mess somewhere so take it with a grain of salt.

Soraka meanwhile is a real special case. It is said that she “descended” of some sorts, that she turned into a regular “mortal”, but that’s only true when viewed from a certain distance. OG-Celestial level of distance. Going by visuals one might just consider her being of vastayan heritage, but that’s not what sets her apart from regular mortals. Surpreme regenerative and restorative powers as well as a perspective on the very fabric of existence itself that no other living being could possibly have make sure she will always be the odd one out no matter what she does. This and some other things might have led to certain psychological tics or patterns depending on how you’d want to call it.

1.) Soraka will never, EVER assume the most powerful/top-spot position in the room even if by all means she is the most qualified/strongest/fitting for the job.

There’s a certain reason Soraka prefers mortals over other celestials, and that is mostly their potential. Literally the one reason she came down to this plane of existence was that she knew who was running this reality (other celestial entities), and she apparently was woefully disappointed with what she was seeing. By her logic the celestials are UNFIT for their position to the point where a mere species with a POTENTIAL is worth paying more attention to. I am not sure if you can call this a really weird inferiortiy complex of some sort or if she just really wished that humans and vastaya would realize their potential so the multiverse is finally in better, possibly more qualified hands - and effectively taking the burden of her, even if it is not actual responsibility and only the “burden of knowing”.

2.) Despite her absurdly powerful magic she dislikes using it because that would interfere with her original goal.

Humans and Vastaya (and maybe even the Undead) have a potential to realize, however it is something they must achieve on their own to truly become something new and not become an OG-Celestial-knockoff. So ideally she  shouldn’t even get involved, only in the most minimal ways. But she has all this power, yet she can’t really do anything with it. It’s a neverending source of frustration.

Combine this method of “subtle influence” with the previous point, and you might have a very clear basis for a personality that might very easily drift into an passive and lethargic state, who refuses to step forward even at times where they totally should and could. Especially when you combine this with the next point:

3.) The usual immortal-problem: the ones with limited time just become a blur, the other timless ones get stuck in their ways.

This usually goes against her philosophy about individual actions shaping the world and so on - but let’s be real, even in a world where a single person can gain the power to obliberate an entire city with the snap of an finger, how many people TRULY lead lives that actually posess agency and action-potential on a national level even? Especially positive long-term effects? You have a few powerful individuals and then those who’s lives get tangled with them, but everyone else, the “background noise” so to speak? Absolutely irrelevant.

This is already a downer, seeing fruitless yet repeating patterns over the course of centuries - but now imagine it also going against your core philosophy, and it getting shoved into your face again and again. Sometimes even this goat probably wonders if it is worth getting up in the morning or if she should just stay in bed...

Not that other immortal entities are much of a help either - either they are of horrible character (*cough* Sol *cough*) or they are “young immortals” like the current Targoian aspects, or Kayne, or the Darkin/Ascended in general... who all have major psychological issues they definetly should work on.

Except Taric. He’s just a fellow with a goal and who has his priorities set and does his job. The gem-man is the one beacon of hope in a bucket of absolute nutjobs that maybe, just maybe, they also can sort things out. You shouldn’t get your hopes up too much tho...

---

It always irked me when people portray Soraka as this sort of alturistic healer, along with all the cliches that come with it (submissve, cute, weak, naive, you name it) when in reality she must sit on a massive bulk of frustration and some really bad days you better not bother her that she’d rather just spend alone in bed.

As much as I like me some adorable cute-sy Soraka content, I really with people would tap more into this somber, potentially even melanchonic side of her. Sure, her philosophy requires her to have a certain baseline of optimism regarding existence as a whole, but you know how it is - you never have the same optimism levels every day, and after so many years I doubt that the average for Soraka is in the exceptionally high area.

I just hope that in canon lore Soraka finds some actual friends to help her through the “bad” days...

[ur-mom-kayn]

Loyalty Chapter 39: Open Questions

Kayn Pov

Zed didn't show up all evening. Actually, Akio had already planned to go, but not without saying goodbye to his master. In addition, Kayns mood was bad, so they have decided to sleep together in his room. The next morning, Zed appeared again. Carefully, he woke his student by shaking his sleeve. Several times Kayn blinked until he rubbed his tired eyes to look into the face of his master. "Zed? Where have you been all night?" "Is it going wrong now when I say by Shen?" Confused, Kayn raised an eyebrow. "I know I intended to insult him, but he cried before I got there." "Hold on?! Shen was crying?!" Kayn screamed.

The noise also awoke Akio, who was lying next to him. "My God Kayn ... They call you the silent assassin. Just live up to your reputation." "Huh, brother Akio. I didn't know you were a morning grump." "Of course I'm one! Never noticed that I go to work until 11 o'clock? And now be a little quieter." Annoyed, he turned to the other side and pulled the blanket over his head. "Now back to the topic again. Why did Shen cry? Not because of me, is it?" "Not directly. Akali has left his clan and apparently, he loved her. It's complicated." "Mmmhh, poor Shen. Maybe I should talk to her." "Forget it. She has taken a vacation so she can go through a self-discovery phase."

Somehow Kayn thought it was ridiculous. I would never consider leaving my master. "And how can we help him now?" "I don't know ... just forgive him. He just said that so that you become valuable to the Council. Without the fact that that you are from Noxus, you would be nothing more than a simple strong soldier. Sounds ridiculous but in the end, it has brought us the success." "Maybe ..." Nevertheless, Kayn didn't know how he should now confront the other. And then he remembered ... "Shit! Rhaast!" From the side, he got kicked first. He will not share a bed with Akio in the future again. However, the bigger disaster was the fact that Rhaast was still with Varus. I hope he isn't too upset now.

"Sry Master, but I have to pick up Rhaast very urgently, otherwise he will get angry. Can you ever throw Akio out of bed and then we can go out for dinner together. I'm hungry." Before Zed could even say anything, Kayn disappeared through the wall. He literally sneaked up to Varus's room. Once there, he discovered that the Darkin was still sleeping. A strange sight. He somehow seemed quite human. Rhaast was on the wall, right next to the bed. He too seemed to sleep. Quietly he reached for Rhaast and went to the hall. In sweatpants and a loose shirt, he made his way to the lounge.

Unfortunately, Zed and Akio weren't there yet. So all alone he didn't want to face the Ionian pack. And yet Irelia and Wukong were in the kitchen. Kayn tried to give them an embarrassed smile, but somehow he felt like an outsider. Rhaast was still asleep. He had never wanted so much that he would be awake. Although the conference, after revealing his true origins, tilted slightly, it was still successful. Irelia and Master Yi agreed to help the Order. Nevertheless, Kayn was unsure. His smile was returned with worried facial expressions. Actually, he had hoped for a different reaction. It was unpleasant. Kayn tried to ignore them and got yogurt out of the fridge. Just as he was about to get a spoon, Irelia suddenly answered. "Hey Kayn, could we have a little chat?" Kayn hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, sure. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Thank you. Well, yesterday we got something terrifying about you. I just wanted to be sure how you feel about it." "Mhh ... what exactly? The fact that I am a Noxian monster, or that my true identity has simply been blabbered?" Irelia looked at him even more worried than before. "I ... I don't think you're a monster. I didn't want to go that far. I just wanted to know what the Noxians did to you and how you feel about them. You said that you were only 10 when you saw a battlefield for the first time. How can you still be alive?" Kayn put away spoon and yogurt cups and looked sadly aside.

"I survived by killing innocent Ionians. At that time I already got my hands dirty and fought without rest for 2 days on the battlefield. At a certain point, I lost my strength. When I saw Zed, I thought that was it. I'm going to die now and I've killed in vain. But then he reached for my hand and told me the fight was over. As soon as I felt the slightest sense of security, I immediately fainted. Next, I woke up in a four-poster bed and was bandaged from top to bottom. Zed sat next to the bed and clarified me. He didn't care that I was an enemy. He gave me a second chance and I gave everything to not disappoint him. I owe my life to him. I ripped my ass off every day. In addition to training, I also learned diligently Ionian and Ionian history. Meanwhile, I fell in love with this country. The language, the culture, nature and above all the magic. There I discovered that I am actually a magician. I didn't know that before. That made me happy and shadow magic gave me the feeling of security. I don't know if you can compare that to the warmth of a mother, never had parents, but I think it comes very close."

It was very noticeable how Wukong got a lump in his throat. Irelia, however, approached Kayn and reached for his right hand. "I understand you so much better now. Thank you for being so open with us. I can now understand better why you follow such a man as Zed. He's some kind of father figure to you, right?" Kayn had to grin. "No, you are wrong. Zed is my mentor and my best friend. Clearly, there is a small age difference between us, but 10 years is too small for a father-son relationship. I considered him more as my big brother. It's complicated. But now we are just best buddies." "That's nice.", She answered with a smile and released him. "Doesn't it bother you that I have noxious blood?" "Not in the least. You can not choose where you are born. Riven was initially on the wrong side and now she helps, on their vacation, the Ionian peasants. She makes an effort to settle her debt. This is tolerated by us. That doesn't mean that you can kill off Ionic people and then with some help everything is eaten. I don't mean that. But as long as you show remorse, everything is fine. And you were a child without choice. So don't worry. You are welcome to us. I wanted to say that on behalf of all Ionians. I'm looking forward to starting a team with you next week. You will definitely be a great jungler."

Even though Kayn wasn't a mischievous person, Irelia's words moved him. "Thanks ... I hope you can forgive me if I don't cry around with emotion now. I really like you guys and it's important to me that you don't consider me as an enemy. Okay, the order can be suspicious, but I guarantee you, we're not enemies." "I thought so." Wukong finally smiled at him. As if speaking of the devil, Zed and Akio came in the room. "Morning.", Zed greeted the crowd unfamiliar. Akio, on the other hand, silently nodded to the others. "Hey Kayn, have you already prepared something for us?" "Nope, I just got here and started the yogurt here. I didn't prepare anything and I don't know what to do." "So if you like, I made too much fruit salad. I hope you like banana, kiwi, and strawberry." Wukong suggested.

Everyone was waiting for an answer from Zed. He simply answered with a nod. "Cool! Then let the party relocate to the dining table. Irelia, could you carry the bowl and cutlery over? I bring glasses and something to drink quickly." Wukong and Irelia started to move, but Zed leaned unobtrusively over to Kayn. "And how should I eat at the big dining table in front of everyone?" "Push your mask up slightly and hold a hand over your mouth. We should behave now. Since yesterday we are alliance partners. It would be good if you also contribute to the social conversation. I know you can be charming." "Okay. ", he answered, slightly annoyed. Kayn took his yogurt and rhaast, which still made no sound, to the table.

In addition to the 5, Karma and Master Yi also sat at the table. It was strange to eat so peacefully with everyone. Even Zed was there. As agreed, he didn't escape. After a conversation lull, Wukong dared to break the silence. "Hey, Akio right? Real strong performance yesterday from you. How did you do that?" Akio looked uncertainly at his master, but for his part, he got no reaction. "Well, I can explain that badly. Shadow ownership is one of the forbidden techniques and cannot be taught. Either you can or you can not. Kayn, for example, can not do it." "Hey! That's not fair brother. You can not walk through walls for that! Plus, your technique will fuck you up against me," Kayn said.

"What do you mean by that?" Irelia asked curiously. This time Kayn looked at Zed. Their master sighed audibly, answering instead of his students. "What Kayn means is that the shadow is always obeying a stronger shadow mage. If Kayn's will is stronger and he is, then he counters the Shadow Ownership technique, and if it goes awry, he might even control his shadow while the technique lasts. But you would be pretty stupid if you keep trying." Even though Zed held his hand over his mouth, one could clearly hear his normal voice. That made for perplexed facial expressions.

"So if I understand that correctly, then Akio is extremely strong against everyone except his own friends," Karma stated. "Ah, not only the order can shadow magic. The Kinkou clan practiced shadow magic as well, but they remain within the scope of the allowed. Shen should be strong enough to break the spell. Although ... no, yes. So much strength should I be able to trust my brother." Shortly had to swallow Master Yi. Wukong hit his Master directly on the back. "Eghh, thank you Wukong, my friend. But what was that because of 'brother'? Since when are you so close to Shen again? Have you set aside all your differences?" "Differences? Which differences? I find Shen just annoying with his balance. Otherwise, I have nothing against him." Zed answered almost amusingly. Kayn was amazed at how relaxed Zed was. Seemed like he was slowly thawing in presence, the other Ionian. With the others, one could clearly feel, how the tension decreased more and more. "Ah, and that you killed his father doesn't matter." "Pretty much yes. My murder had nothing to do with Shen personally. I had had stress with my adoptive father. Shen forgave me halfway. He must not be overcome by anger, which is why he has forgiven me."

"Yes, but you didn't murder just one man, but half the clan. You even took them home. I can not believe that Shen is really so good-natured." Irelia was clearly stunned in the face. Zed set his silverware aside and pulled his mask down again. "Believe it or not. I don't care." Zed got up and started to leave the room. Quickly, Kayn got up, took away their dishes and followed his master, as did Akio.

...

After his brother packed his stuff, they said goodbye to him at the gate. "Tell the others about the events and prepare them to take the next steps with the Kinkou clan. Shen will also tell his men. If they cause stress, let me know. I'll see what I can do then," Zed instructed his student Akio. "Understood master. Thank you for staying here and the trust you have shown me. I will not disappoint you and Kayn. Please take good care of my little brother. He can sometimes be real ... well, you know." "Further?" Kayn asked angrily. "Oh brother, now and then you have to leave the adults their room for a chat. So I'm going to get up, otherwise, I'll miss the ferry." "Have a good trip," his master wished. Akio bowed by default to his master and then went the distance.

"Man and what do we do now Zed?" "Hmm. I don't know. Maybe enjoy our lonely time again?"

[tvdversefanfiction]

Origins of Magic

Warnings: I do not own the rights to the television series “The Originals”, “Vampire Diaries”, or “Legacies” and do not own any of the characters within the TVD universe, I am making no profit from this and have no intention for this fanfiction series except for readers to enjoy. 15+ Mild to Strong Violence, Strong Language, Witchcraft, sexual scenes, and sexual references. F/F, F/M, M/M, Other. 

CHAPTER FIVE HERE

Chapter 6 - Team Mikaelson

Klaus Mikaelson’s recent visit to Mystic Falls had been going particularly well, especially considering he was unaware of the problems his siblings Rebekah and Elijah were having back in New Orleans. The original hybrid had spent the day reconnecting with his daughter Hope, meeting a grown-up Josie and hearing their wedding plans which now included him. However, before he returned to New Orleans, he had one last visit to make, a visit to his eldest sibling Freya Mikaelson. “Freya!” Klaus said with a sense of excitement as he stood in front of his eldest sister, who stood in the garden of her home in Mystic Falls, tending to her flowers with a water can. “Klaus!” She replied as she dropped the water can and ran over to hug her younger brother, ecstatic to see him alive once again. “Rebekah told me she brought you back, but it was not real until right now!” “As always you are aging very well!” Klaus complimented his sister Freya after breaking off their hug. “As always, a little touch of magic goes a long way, also helps I am teaching at Salvatore Boarding School now, so I have access to all kinds of magic to help fight the aging!” Freya admitted to her brother. “I waited until Hope had finished her studies there before deciding to teach which she was very thankful about.” “I cannot believe my sister and my daughter live in Mystic Falls with their own budding families.” Klaus confessed to her. “It is funny how much life quiets down when your little brother is not out there causing enemies on a daily basis.” Freya joked with him. “Although Kol is still out there but luckily Davina seems to have him under the thumb these days.” Before Klaus had any more time to question Freya about what she had been up to over the last decade since he had died his phone had began ringing and he quickly answered it, hearing Rebekah’s voice straight away, who wasted no time in getting her brother up to speed with the latest escapades back in New Orleans. “So, dear sister, how do you fancy doing a little spell for me before I am forced to head back to New Orleans early?” Klaus asked Freya after hanging up his phone call to their sister. “I guess this means our siblings have got themselves into trouble again.” Freya guessed correctly.

Meanwhile back in New Orleans, Rebekah and Elijah were waiting outside of the “Welcome to New Orleans” sign standing in front of their black convertible car, awaiting their brother Kol’s arrival who decided to lend a helping hand with the current witch situation, leaving Davina and their children back in San Francisco. Rebekah knew Kol would have a lot to say about Klaus and Elijah’s return especially with the Black siblings’ involvement in his brothers’ return but she knew she could convince him to help her out like she always could plus it helped that Rose also needed help and she could play on their former friendship to get Kol on side. “I still cannot believe our brother Kol is married with children, here was me believing he would never grow up and he has done what none of us could ever manage and found himself a normal life.” Elijah confessed to his sister. “Trust me Elijah a normal life is overrated, I tried that with Marcel and I really did love him but, in the end, it was not enough.” Rebekah replied, speaking about her breakup with Marcel for the first time. “I finally got the picture perfect wedding I always wanted with the guy of my dreams but there was no happily ever after just crashes and burns until I could not take it anymore and just decided to flee.” “You and Marcellus have a rather complicated history it is never really over with the two of you not even Niklaus himself could stand in the way of you two.” Elijah told Rebekah, making it clear he did not believe his sister’s love story with Marcel was over. “No, it is different this time, things I want, things I need and things I am going to be just doesn’t work with being his wife.” Rebekah admitted with a sigh of sadness. “I may have a long time before I get the chance of being human again but when that day comes I want it all; the dreary suburban life, spoiled brats whom I love and are my own and a husband I want to kill every now and then but do not actually because I love him…” “I see, tell me Rebekah where do your brothers fit into this version of you?” Elijah questioned his sister. “Did you only bring us back, so you were not alone during the wait to be human? Are we just disposable the moment you become human and seek that normal life?” “Do not get all dramatic on me now Elijah, of course you and Klaus will forever be a part of my life in some shape or form, you two are hard to get rid of and believe it or not but I like it that way…sometimes.” Rebekah answered him, reassuring her brother of his importance to her life. “Well it is just like me to miss the family reunion!” Kol stated, after vamp speeding his way to stand in front of Rebekah and Elijah. “I wonder if our sister Freya is coming along for this trip of nostalgia?” “Niklaus is in Mystic Falls with her now trying to locate the siblings so we can separate that particularly bloody family reunion, which gives us some time…if little to consider what we are going to do with Henrik.” Elijah answered his younger brother. “He may not look or act like he used to be but he’s still our baby brother…the youngest of us all and he has already died once.” Rebekah chimed in, feeling a knot in the gut of her stomach, knowing they may have to kill their brother. “Of course, now he has the hollow in him and has been playing you all like fools, not to mention the whole after life has gone to hell as well…” Kol replied to his siblings. “How exactly are we going to fix that one?” “I figure first we deal with Henrik and this witch/warlock Magnus, then decide on what to do with Henrik and then we can tackle the ghosts of our past.” Elijah answered him. “Not to mention we need to work out whether we are saving Kayne, Rose and or Bella or if we should just so simply kill them all.” “We are not killing Bella and we are most certainly not killing Kayne either!” Rebekah snapped. “They helped bring you back and we have already done too many wrongs to them already.” “Do not forget Rose, after all she is the sole reason, I am helping out with this mess that you yourself created sister.” Kol reminded Rebekah before turning to Elijah. “Not that it is not nice to have you among the living again brother but I’d rather the whole of the afterlife did not join you on that journey!” “I surprisingly agree with you Kol.” Elijah replied to him. “So, how do we go about getting ourselves involved in a witch war with four rather powerful witches and a Mikaelson witch to boot?” Kol wondered, as Rebekah’s phone began to ring. Instead of answering Kol, Rebekah quickly pulled out her phone from her jacket pocket and answered it, immediately hearing Klaus’ voice who had details for his sister via their latest foes’ location that he got from a locating spell cast by their sister Freya and now that Rebekah had the much needed information it was time for the Mikaelson’s to kick their plan into action.

The Hollow had latched itself onto Henrik Mikaelson following Klaus and Elijah’s deaths, tricked the Mikaelson brothers that they were in fact Henrik and gave them an afterlife to fit their idea of perfection while it grew closer to them, learning their every weakness while playing the role of a loving brother. Inadu herself was long gone but her power, the darkness of her aura, remained as strong as ever before and now it had latched itself onto the youngest Mikaelson, Henrik losing himself within the darkness of The Hollow as The Hollow plotted to take out the rest of Henrik’s family and then whoever else dared to threaten its power. “I guess this addition to the family reunion means you have realized my little secret.” Henrik said all too smugly with a wicked grin as Elijah, Rebekah and Kol vamp sped into the compound to find Henrik stood by the fountain waiting for them. “We can help you fight the hollow; we can find a way to destroy this power once and for all.” Elijah pleaded with his youngest brother. “Henrik if you are in there somewhere please fight to come through!” “Oh, I am as much Henrik as I am the hollow now there is no doubt about that.” Henrik claimed to his siblings. “Here is the thing both of us want the lot of you to pay…for different reasons of course but vengeance is still strong on both sides.” “What the bloody hell do you want us to pay for Henrik?” Rebekah questioned her brother. “The hollow has clearly warped your mind if you want vengeance against your own siblings.” “I barely spent a decade breathing before I was taken by death, a death in which was permanent for far too long while my family moved on without me!” Henrik shouted furiously at his siblings. “Yet you were all made immortal without so much as a thought about bringing me back and yet the rest of you fought so bloody hard for everyone else but me!” “You were but a child when you died, we assumed you found peace Henrik.” Elijah replied, making it clear he did not mean to hurt his brother. “If we had known otherwise there is nothing, we would not have done to bring you back to us!” “Here’s the thing you did not and while you chose to forget all about me I watched as you used your immortality to torture and massacre the many squandering away any goodness within any of you and yet you all think you can just get some happy ending��one that I deserved!” Henrik argued with Elijah. “Okay we get it you died young and you’re pissed about it but brother you got the lucky end of that deal try spending a 1000 years being daggered whenever you so much as stepped in the wrong direction!” Kol chimed in, stating that nobody there was free from suffering. “Or having an uncontrollable blood lust that never goes away…” “Or spending 1000 bloody years being hunted by our own father purely because of his hatred which should have been aimed towards our cheating backstabbing bitch of a mother!” Rebekah added to the argument. “So, you died before us well lucky bloody you! You should be thankful you got to escape this wretched existence!” “We have all suffered many times dear brother, but we remain standing together…you do not have to stand against us Henrik you can still choose to stand with us.” Elijah told him, remaining somewhat level-headed in comparison to Kol and Rebekah. “This has been a thousand years in the making there is no chance of me stepping down until every last one of you get the payback you deserve!” Henrik revealed to them all, making it clear he had no plans of backing down. “Where are the Black witches?” Kol shouted, determined to find his missing friend. “Where are they Henrik?” “Home!” Henrik declared cryptically.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND September 13, 2019  - ONE CUT OF THE DEAD, FREAKS, HUSTLERS, THE GOLDFINCH and more

We’re well into September, and the Toronto Film Festival is slowly grinding to a halt as I continue to sulk for missing so many movies that I won’t be able to see until November or December. At least I’ll be at the New York Film Festival this month, and there’s a little bit of overlap there.

Besides the wide releases, there’s some really good limited releases this week, but I want to focus specifically on three movies that played at the What the Fest?! in New York City back in March:

The first of them is the Japanese zombie horror-comedy ONE CUT OF THE DEAD from director Shin'ichirô Ueda, which Shudder is releasing and streaming after it played a number of festivals including last year’s Fantastic Fest. What can I say about this really innovative film? I guess I can tell you that it’s about a zombie attack on the crew of a zombie movie, but that wouldn’t be the whole story. Honestly, it’s best to go in not knowing too much about it, other than it’s not your typical zombie movie. The complex intricacies of what Ueda does with his cast makes this one of my favorite recent zombie-related movies since the similarly great Korean film, Train to Busan. One Cut of the Dead will be released in New York (at the IFC Center) and in L.A. on Friday but then it will get special one-night screenings next Tuesday (Sept 17) in other citiesbefore premiering on the Shudder streaming channel sometime down the road. And if you’ve been wondering why everyone who sees this movie keeps yelling “Pom!,” well you’ll just have to see the movie for yourself.

Another great movie from “What The Fest!?” is Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein’s FREAKS (Well Go USA), which will open a little wider than some of the other limited releases this weekend. It stars relative newcomer Lexy Kolker as Chloe, a young girl living in a world where those with powers are considered “freaks,” shunned and captured for experiments. Her father (Emile Hirsch) has been keeping her in hiding, but as Chloe gets older, she has questions about her mother, and also, there’s that weird ice cream man (Bruce Dern) who seems to know about her. Freaksis really a fantastic film from these filmmakers, Lipovsky having directed Leprechaun: Originsa few years back. I was truly impressed with Kolker’s performance opposite much more experienced actors, and Lipovsky/Stein find a way to build up the story to a satisfying climax.

I’ll have an interview with the directors over at The Beat later this week, as well.

I also want to call attention to DEPRAVED  (IFC Midnight), the new film from director Larry Fessenden, which is his take on the Frankenstein mythos with David Call playing Henry, an army medic who decides to build a human being called Adam (played by Alex Breux), but finds his invention hard to control as Adam remembers his past. Another “What the Fest?” vet (actually, this year’s opening night film), Depraved also stars Joshua Leonard, Chloë Levine and Ana Kayne, and it’s so nice to have Larry back making movies. You can read more with Larry in my interview over at The Beat.

And then of course, there are this week’s wide releases, STXfilms’ HUSTLERS and Warner Bros’ THE GOLDFINCH, which I’m hoping I get to see one or both by the time this posts. If so, I’ll have review of both of these movies below. (Note: I did get to them, and they’re both interesting movies in that neither of them was anything like I expected.)

I’m really curious about HUSTLERS (STXFilms), because it’s the third film from director Lorene Scafaria, whose previous films, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and The Meddler, I quite enjoyed, mainly because they featured actresses I like. I can take or leave Jennifer Lopez, but I genuinely love Constance Wu, and I really want to see what she can do in a more dramatic role. And then, of course, there’s the premise of New York strippers scamming a bunch of sleezy rich men out of their money, which is based on a New York Magazine article. That’s just one of those great pitches that makes me think many will be interested in checking it out this weekend, and it might do better than expected.

Mini-Review: I honestly think Hustlers is going to be an interesting litmus test for whether people who usually frown or turn their noses at the very real adult entertainment business that permeates big cities and small towns alike will be able to look past the setting to appreciate it for the skillful crime-drama that it is.

The film begins in 2007 with Constance Wu’s Dorothy on her first day at a big New York City strip club where she has to deal with slimy Wall Street types and equally sleazy bosses who take a big chunk of her earnings. Things change when she meets Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona, the absolute queen of the strip club scene, which you can tell as you first watch her performing. Ramona knows the ropes and takes a liking to “Destiny” (Dorothy’s stripper name) enough to befriend her and give her some tips.

After a bit  more shenanigans explaining how things work in stripping, the story then cuts forward years later after Dorothy has had a child and is a single mother needing money. She returns to the club but business isn’t as good after 2008 as the Wall Street jerks aren’t as anxious to throw their money around. When Ramona reenters her life, the two of them come up with a scheme to drug their marks and then empty out their credit cards of money. It’s going well, and they’re getting away with it to the point where they need to expand.

Although Scafaria uses a fairly standard format to tell this story in the screenplay – basically having Constance Wu telling Julia Styles’ reporter the story as it plays out -- it’s the way she allows the story to unfold which allows the film to improve as it goes along. Sure, it’s a little predictable where and how things are going to go wrong, but the movie still works on quite a few levels beginning with the performances by Wu and J-Lo that a lot of people will be talking about later. When we first see Lopez dancing, she looks absolutely amazing, and it must be incredibly empowering for a former dancer now 50 years old to be able to get on stage with barely any clothes on and strut her stuff.

A lot of why the movie doesn’t come across as sleazy as it might otherwise (such as in the hands of a male director) is the way that Scafaria focuses so much on the friendship between Ramona and Dorothy and what happens as things start breaking down between them, especially when Dorothy starts growing a conscience. The rest of the mostly-female cast is great, although most of the men in the movie are depicted as such slimy and disgusting pigs, it’s hard to feel sorry for them either.

Hustlers is the type of movie that we wouldn’t blink if Scorsese or even producer Adam McKay had directed, but the fact that Scafaria can transition so smoothly from her light comedies to something so well-constructed is part of why the movie is so impressive.

I’m not sure if women who see this movie will rush out to take stripping classes in order to fuel their sense of empowerment, but Hustlers is a genuinely enjoyable film that tells a fascinating story and Scafaria should get full credit for making another movie this good.

Rating: 8/10

I don’t know nearly as much about THE GOLDFINCH (Warner Bros.) except that it’s based on a best-selling Pulitzer price-winning book by author Donna Tartt, and it has an insane cast that includes Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman and Jeffrey Wright. I know that reviews out of TIFF were not good, and I’m not sure it will find an audience even with the popularity of the book.

Mini-Review: I haven’t read The Goldfinch, and actually, I’m kind of glad I didn’t read it before seeing this John Crowley-directed movie, because it might have taken away from one of the main reasons I enjoyed it.

The basic premise is simple but the overall story and movie that tells the story is quite complex, maybe needlessly so, but if I didn’t know this movie was based on a beloved book, I could totally have guessed that was the case since so much of what happens in the movie is more literary than cinematic… though not necessarily in a bad way.

The story revolves around Theo Decker, played as a youngster by Oakes Fegley and about ten years older by Ansel Elgort. We meet Theo shortly after his mother was killed in an explosion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, after which he’s turned over to the wealthy Barbour family, his friend Andy’s mother overjoyed to bring Theo into their family of five. Just when things are going well, Theo’s real father (Luke Wilson) shows up and drags the boy back to his home in a desolate area outside Vegas with his white trash girlfriend (played by an unrecognizable Sarah Paulson). There, Theo makes a new friend in Boris (Finn Wolfhard), and the two of them get into trouble, smoking cigarettes, drinking and doing drugs. And then stuff happens.  

If you haven’t read the book, I’m not going to do a play-by-play on the plot, because SO MUCH happens in this movie, and that’s part of why it’s enjoyable because it’s such rich and dense storytelling ably pulled together by Brooklyn director John Crowley.

One of the things I will mention is the movie’s title “The Goldfinch” which is a priceless work of art that Theo takes from the Met after the explosion, and he holds onto it for years, for reasons we won’t learn until much later. Another piece of the puzzle is Jeffrey Wright’s Hobie, who restores antiques into convincing fakes. There’s also Pippa (Ashleigh Cummings), the granddaughter of Hobie’s business partner who also died in the explosion.

There is a way that these people connect together, and a reason why almost all of them have an important place in Theo’s journey, but there is absolutely nothing predictable about how many of these pieces will come together. To say that The Goldfinch is full of unexpected surprises would be an understatement.

I generally liked Oakes Fegley better as Theo than Ansel Elgort, but Finn Wolfhard quickly steals the movie as Theo’s eccentric friend, who returns later in the guises of Aneurin Barnard. Both pairs of actors make their portions of the film particularly interesting. In fact, I thought that Nicole Kidman probably brought the least to her role as Theo’s adoptive mother.

Filmed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, the movie looks absolutely gorgeous, leaving little question why he is considered the master. Every actor and location looks amazing, and there’s a lot of variety in environments in which the story takes place. On top of that, the choices in music really helped me to enjoy this movie, even if it’s the choice of New Order to introduce Finn Wolfhard’s Boris, all dressed in black, to the rest of the score by Trevor Gureckis that helps bolster the film’s more dramatic moments.

Yes, the movie does feel long at times and maybe a little slow, but it’s also quite captivating because you never know where things are going, and everything is so unpredictable. You have to give props to screenwriter Peter Straughn for tackling such difficult material in such a fluid way. (I will mention that there’s at least one aspect of the film’s big plot twist that is almost impossible to believe, but I won’t ruin it.)

In my opinion, all of these seeming tangents that take Theo on this wild journey does pay-off with an ending that got me quite teary-eyed. Sure, it’s long at 2.5 hours but Theo’s story is a complicated one to tell, and it all adds up and pays off eventually.

Rating: 7/10

Amazon Studios has been advertising that Paul Downs Collaizo’s BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON nationwide this Friday but that could mean anywhere between 500 and 1500 theaters or more. I hope it’s somewhere in the middle, as I’d like to see it make a play into the top 10 like The Peanut Butter Falcon did last weekend. It’s a terrific film and Jillian Bell is quite wonderful in it, oh, and if you haven’t read my interview with her, you can find that over at Next Best Picture. It’s a fun interview and a fun movie, so I hope people make an effort to check it out.

LIMITED RELEASES

One of the more interesting releases of the weekend is the Colombian film MONOS (Neon /Participant Media) from director Alejandro Landes that centers on a pack of wild gun-toting teenagers living on a mountaintop in the South American jungles where they run sort of wild but also are well-trained as a fighting unit. They actually have taken a hostage, a doctor played by Julianne Nicholson, who is just great in this role, continuing to show off how she’s one of the most underrated actresses working today. There’s definitely a “Lord of the Flies” feel to Landes’ film which has been submitted by Colombia as its Oscar submission for the newly-labelled “Best International Film Festival,” and I wouldn’t be surprised if it finds enough fans to get into the short-list, at least. Not sure about the nomination as this is already a tough year with high-profile submissions like the new Almodovar and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. Still, I think this will find its share of fans, and I can recommend it for its artistry more than as something you must rush out to see.

GKIDS’s latest animated release is ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE, based on the book by journalist Ricardo Kapuscinski that looks at the outbreak of civil war in Angola after being freed of its independence from Portugal in 1975. The autobiographical film follows  Kapuściński’s search for the rebel leader Farrusco through wartorn Angola, so this is very much an animated documentary similar to Waltz with Bashir. It will open in New York at the IFC Center and in L.A. at the Laemmle Glendale this Friday.

And then there’s Michael Tyburski’s THE SOUND OF SILENCE (IFC Films), which stars Peter Sarsgaard, an actor I generally like, as a “house tuner.” Basically, he goes into people’s apartments and find out what notes or tones are causing them anxiety or preventing them from sleeping. One of his clients is a woman, played by Rashida Jones, and they sort of have a thing going, but Sarsgaard’s character is so strange and the movie is so slow, I didn’t really get more than an hour into this before I gave up.  This was based on a short film called “Palimpsest,” and while “The Sound of Silence” is a much better title, this is a concept that probably works best as a short, since as a feature, it’s boring as fuck.

Another Friday the 13thhorror release is Scott Becks and Bryan Woods’ HAUNT (Momentum Pictures), which follows a group of friends who go into an “extreme haunted house” on Halloween in a night that turns deadly. Unlike the movies mentioned above, I feel that this really should have been held until next month, because it’s just going to get lost in the shuffle of all of the releases this weekend.

Since this column doesn’t post until Wednesday, I should probably mention that Rob Zombie’s new movie 3 from Hell will get a three-day wide release on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in about 500 theaters, each day offering another bonus. It’s a direct sequel to The Hell’s Rejects, a movie I actively hated, and this one is more of the same, so I can’t recommend it at all. I hated this movie, and it’s use of violence for entertainment. UGH. 

Let’s get to a few documentaries, a few of which I’ve seen...

Opening at the IFC Center is Michelle Esrick’s Cracked Up, a movie about “Saturday Night Live” vet Darrell Hammond and the history of childhood trauma he kept locked up for 40 years. I missed this at Doc-NYC last year but both Hammond and Esrick will be at the IFC Center Friday evening to answer questions.

Irene Taylor Brodsky’s Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements (Abramorama) opens at New York’s Landmark 57 Friday and in L.A. at the Lammle Royal on Friday, Sept 20, and it’s an interesting film for the director of Beware the Slenderman, an excellent doc from a few years back. It looks at three people dealing with deafness, a young boy, an aging grandfather and no less than Ludwig van Beethoven, their stories weaved together to explore what it means to be deaf.

I had mixed feelings on Liam Gallagher: As It Was (Screen Media), which will be in theaters this Friday, available via Digital Download Sept. 17 and on VOD platforms Oct. 8.  I saw and liked the Oasis doc Oasis: Supersonic a few years back, but Gavin Fitzgerald and Charlie Lightening’s doc focuses on the former Oasis frontman and his fall from grace after his very public feud with his brother Noel Gallagher put the spotlight on a singer who I personally feel is an egotistical prat… and he goes about proving that in every scene of this movie. The movie covers how the break-up of Oasis led to Liam immediately starting Beady Eye, which proved to be a failure before he decides to go solo. Maybe it isn’t a coincidence that this is being released a week before Gallagher’s new solo album “Why Me? Why Not.”

After playing last year’s Fantastic Fest and the recent Fantasia and BAMCInemaFest, Aaron Schimberg’s Chained for Life will be released at the IFC Center on Weds and at the Landmark Nuart in Los Angeles on Friday. The movie stars Jess Weixler as movie star Mabel, who has been slumming it in art-horror film being shot in a hospital opposite Rosenthal (Adam Pearson), a gentle young man with a severe facial deformity, as their relationship grows.

Elise Duran’s high-concept rom-com Can You Keep a Secret? (Vertical) is based on Sophie Kinsella’s novel and it stars the super-cute Alexandra Daddario as a New York woman who is having troubles in life and when turbulence hits her plane, she confesses all her secrets to her neighbor, who turns out to be the company’s CEO.

Next up is a bunch of odds and ends including some VOD specials. Opening in New York and L.A. is Larry Clarke’s comedy 3 Days with Dad (Unified Pictures), starring Tom Arnold who returns home to deal with his dying father. There’s also the Bollywood courtroom drama Section 375 (Reliance Entertainment), directed by Ajay Bahl.  Jim Gaffigan’s second movie of the year, American Dreamer (Saban/Lionsgate), co-written and directed by Derrick Borte (The Joneses), has him playing a ride-share driver who kidnaps the child of a drugdealer. It opens at New York’s Cinema Village Friday and in L.A. and VOD next Friday. There’s also Garrett Batty’s Out of Liberty (Purdie Distribution), and I’m not even sure what to say about Seth Prices’ Redistribution, opening at the Metrograph, except that it’s a “reflexive work on art and interpretation.” Make of that what you will…. Or just check out the weird trailer.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

On Thursday begins the Tribeca TV Festival, which will showcase some of the newest and most anticipated television shows of the fall season including ABC’s Bless This Messwith Lake Bell, Dax Shepard and Pam Grier in attendance; the Apple+ series Dickinson, starring Hailee Steinfeld and Jane Krakowski; the CBS series Evil; and much more. Click on the link above to see what’s going to be screening, but it’s a pretty impressive line-up if you’re an avid TV watcher.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

The Welcome To Metrograph: Redux series continues this weekend with Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev (1966) and Fellini’s Amarcord (1973), while Late Nites at Metrograph  will screen Buñuel’s Belle du Jour (1967) and Playtime: Family Matinees  will screen Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 film City Lights.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Monday night is Franc Roddam’s 1979 film Quadrophenia, based on The Who’s concept album, while this week’s “Tuesday Terror” is Dario Argento’s 1975 film Deep Red, which ironically, Italian rockers Goblin will be in town playing the score for LIVE at the PlayStation Theater on Friday in case you miss it at the Alamo. (Although tickets are obviously much more expensive for the concert.) Next week’s “Weird Wednesday” is the Rutger Hauer movie Split Secondfrom 1992.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Thursday will be a 40thAnniversary screening of Breaking Away with some of the cast in person, while Friday is a hockey double feature of Slap Shot  (1977) and Sudden Death  (1995). Saturday is a 70mm screening of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, while Sunday is a double feature of The Godfather  (1972) and The Godfather Part II  (1974). Also Sunday, the George Lucas Family Foundation sponsors a screening of the 1919 silent film The Son-of-a-Gun (in 8mm!!!)with musical accompaniment, as well as some of Gilbert Anderson’s other shorts from the time.

AERO  (LA):

Wednesday’s Greg Proops Film Club will screen Fritz Lang’s Ministry of Fear (1944) in 35mm, while Thursday begins a series of “Anime Double Features” of Ninja Scroll (1993) with Vampire Hunter D (1985). Friday is a Satoshi Kon anime double feature of Millennium Actress  (2001) and Perfect Blue  (1997). Saturday’s Anime double feature isRedline  (2009)and Ghost in the Shell (1995), while Sunday is a Studio Ghibli double feature of Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and Only Yesterday  (1991).  Tuesday’s “Heptember Matinee” is a new 4k restoration of Katherine Hepburn’s Holiday from 1938.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

BAM begins an awesome appropriate series called “Purpose and Passion: The Cinema of John Singleton,” showing a lot  (if not all) of the late filmmaker’s work, including Boyz in the Hood, Poetic Justice, Higher Learningand even more recent movies like Four Brothers, Abductionand his 2000 Shaft, starring Samuel L. Jackson. This week’s “Beyond the Canon” offering on Saturday is a double feature of Valie Export’sInvisible Adversariesfrom 1977 and Invasion of the Body Snatchersfrom 1978. It’s also showing Craig Brewer’s Hustle and Flow, starring Terrence Howard, which Singleton produced.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

On Thursday, Film at Lincoln Center begins a short series called “Two Free Women: Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner” which should be fairly self-explanatory, focusing the spotlight on the actor/comedian and her life partner, which will include a conversation with the two women on Saturday evening. The series will open with John Bailey’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1991) on Thursday night with a QnA  with the two women. The rest of the series includes All of Me (1984), 9 to 5 (1980), Big Business (1988), Nashville (1975), the recent Grandma  (2015) and many more films, including Nick Broomfield’s doc Lily Tomlin.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Sean R’s pick Labyrinth (1986) while Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is the GREATEST STAFF PICK OF ALL TIME… Alex Cox’s 1984 classic Rep Man, picked by Jeff!  Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 is a 35mm print of Scorsese’s Mean Streets. (As far as I can tell, the 4k restoration of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet is ending on Thursday.)

FILM FORUM (NYC):

This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is three Laurel and Hardy shorts and on Monday is a screening of Preston Sturges’ 1941 film The Lady Eve, starring Barbara Stanwyk, with a QnA and signing with Sturges’ son Tom. Joseph Losey’s Mr. Klein will continue running through Thursday, Sept. 19.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

Not really repertory but MOMI is playing the director’s cut of Ari Aster’s Midsommar this weekend as well as Makoto Shinkai’s amazing 2017 film Your Name, the latter on Saturday and Sunday at noon.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

On Weds., Thursday and Sunday, the Roxy is showing a 35mm print of David Byrne’s True Stories from 1986, which seems to have found new life over 30 years since its debut.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

This week’s midnight movie on Friday isJohn Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch from 2000!

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Sorry, Quentin, but as long as you use your excellent rep theater just to show Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, the New Bev will remain at the bottom of this section. The Wednesday matinee is Possessed (1947), starring Joan Crawfors, while the weekend’s “KIddee Matinee” is a classic… 1965’s The Sound of Music! There’s a special Cartoon Club on Saturday morning and Pulp Fiction is the Saturday midnight and then Monday’s matinee is Fast Times at Ridgmont High (1985) in 35mm.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Probably more than anything, I’m excited for the return of Jon Favreau’s The Chef Show this Friday, but there’s also a new original film called TALL GIRL, directed by Nzingha Stewart and starring Ava Michelle as the tallest girl in school (hence the title), who deals with being so tall until she meets Luke Eisner’s Stig, a Swedish foreign exchange student who is even taller than her. It’s another cute teen-targeted rom-com from Netflix that I’m not sure I’ll ever see.

Next week is a mix of stuff including James Gray’s Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt; Sylvester Stallone is back as Rambo: Last Blood and Downton Abbeyr eturns… but only in theaters.

[wraithwolf]

so let’s talk about Shieda fucking Kayn——

first off, I actually want to give props to Riot because as much as I change shit around I'm genuinely glad we're continuing to receive lore that intertwines with other pieces rather than having a bunch of standalones that generally fail (and subsequently receive harsher criticism) solely because they have nothing to lean on. as expected some (most) people are unhappy with it but if nothing else I'm glad Kayn has lore beyond his little intro paragraph because y'all know they very well could've just gave us that and left it. (I'm not here to complain about the comm tho that's a separate post) basically, I'm Pleased and there's a lot to think about.

Initially, the decision to make Kayn a Noxian threw me for a Big Ass Loop™ because I was convinced the Order was exclusively for Ionians (more specifically, Ionians proved worthy by Zed) and while Kayn was still chosen by Zed there’s an underlying irony in this choice. We’re deep into the Ionian/Noxian war by the time Kayn is forced into it, and while Zed isn’t exactly the most Merciful or #Relatable person, imagine the intrigue a person such as himself had in seeing a poor, Noxian child with the drive and the anger of that of a seasoned warrior not only still holding on (considering Zed and co. didn’t arrive to the scene for two days after Kayn was dispatched) throughout all of the carnage that surely followed, but finding the strength to take up his weapon once again. For what it’s worth, Kayn was determined to fight for his life or literally die trying no matter who challenged him. We know Kayn didn’t know who was standing over him, but he was willing to fight anyway. I imagine Zed to have found it admirable, but at the same time beneficial: being able to change this boy and harness his rage, then unleash it against the same people that otherwise would’ve let him die at the Epool. The same people that sought to slay his own. I’m 50/50 about this because I speculated Zed had a reason for taking Kayn under his wing, but I didn’t expect the Noxian angle at all.

The thing is, there’s a lot more irony to this beyond Zed taking in a Noxian to use against other Noxians, as we can obviously see. Kayn resembles Zed in many ways— a familiar, stubborn arrogance alongside the same hungry determination that inevitably consumes him to be more than what he is, going as far as to seek an advantage through outside means - just like Zed in seeking out the Box to surpass Shen, Kayn seeks out Rhaast; only it’s safe to say Kayn is far more ambitious in his reasons for doing so, as in Kayn wants control of the fucking Order itself where Zed... wasn’t so bold, at the time.

It’s interesting to think about how an endgame for Kayn (and also Zed, since at least in Zed’s case we have to consider his current (????) involvement with Shen in an attempt to stop Jhin all over again and then add Kayn to the mix) would play out as it is almost entirely dependent on Zed and Kayn’s will alone. Should Kayn succumb to Rhaast, (which now seems a little more plausible with Kayn’s cockiness running amok through everything he does) I imagine the dynamic would change entirely as it goes beyond controlling Kayn as best as Zed can (I use control loosely because while I imagine Zed to run the Order as he sees fit, to make it a total dictatorship still seems like a little bit of a stretch to me if only because we don’t know how Zed reacted to Kayn returning with the Darkin scythe in hand and word that he Literally Killed Nakuri in order to bring it back) to having to deal with him without risking the rest of the Order and all of Ionia itself. They’ve already got Jhin running around, for gods sake, they don’t need a fucking Darkin along with him.

Ultimately, a lot like with champs such as Zed and Jhin, a real endgame is left up to the writer of said character and the overall interpretation itself. The way I see it, Zed isn’t going to be pleased with Kayn’s decisions to not only kill another member of the Order but also to voluntarily give part of himself to Rhaast in order to ‘control’ him; but again we return to Zed’s somewhat Ulterior Motive as to why he brought Kayn in in the first place. It’s not hard to tell that Kayn is confident, though overbearingly so--and from the looks of it, Zed isn’t The Happiest about Kayn’s behavior nor his choices but there are fragments of Kayn that Zed can recall in himself that might just allow certain things... to an extent. I’m in no way saying Zed just “o ok u just killed one of my students and defied my orders and also want The Order from me, Cool” because I’m laughing imagining the lecture/punishment Kayn actually receives after he returns with Rhaast and Kayn just scowling and grumbling the entire time but! I can see him allowing few aspects of Kayn solely because if he can convince Kayn that his strength comes from him, not Rhaast, Kayn can overcome Rhaast, and Zed can continue to shape him.

Also, let me add right now that while I don’t think Zed would risk much for him, (I’ve never supported 100% Evil Zed but I’m not a “Zed Did Nothing Wrong” stan either) I also don’t agree with the idea that Zed wants Kayn to lose himself to Rhaast, that Zed would send Kayn to deal with Jhin, or that Zed would even involve him in it. The risk, in all of these scenarios is vastly higher than the reward. Again, a Literal Darkin running around slaughtering everyone would mean further disaster for Ionia, and inevitably word would get around who brought Kayn (and Rhaast by relation) into the nation, and while Zed isn’t exactly a secret to all, I doubt he’d want to bring himself and his actions front and center. Kayn is still extremely young (eighteen-nineteen??) and while he’s in no way weak or stupid (s/o to Mint for mentioning this entire point to me i love u big hug) Jhin has years of experience on him. It wouldn’t be difficult for Jhin to take advantage of Kayn and either kill him on the spot or put him through worse knowing it was a stronger way to get to Zed especially if we can assume Kayn would completely underestimate him. For what it’s worth... my interpretation, specifically, has yet to know of Jhin at all. Whether or not he later on learns and what happens thereafter is to be decided. (*aggressively chinhands*)

Furthermore, in regards to the “wow he is so cliche” “wow he is so edgy” arguments that plague his Entire Fucking Existence and tag right now... yes. It was obvious he was going to be a little edgy and a little bit of a cliche. That doesn’t (and it shouldn’t) take away from the potential he has to further flesh out the lore as a whole. You gotta realize now more than ever that Kayn is young, one of the youngest champions (?) to have a fairly deep involvement with some larger scale issues going on within the overall story. I can name a few other champs that follow a similar path and are edgy in their own respects, but I’m not going to. The lore has disproved many things, one of them being that Kayn isn’t Just Edgy for the sake of being edgy. It’s very likely that as he grows and matures, a lot of his current mannerisms will fade/vanish entirely depending on what happens to him in the future. In a nutshell, being edgy doesn’t make him a joke, and he’s clearly not an unconditional, rampant Zed fanboi uguu kouhai xDdD like a lot of people were using at the forefront of their argument as to why they dislike him. 💁

TO CONCLUDE ... I like Kayn, I like his lore, and I’m really liking the possibilities for building him and taking him in a direction entirely my own. (and that’s just for main verse, let alone the possible skin aus, modern verse, what have you) Of course, it wouldn’t be a Blog by Hina™ without some divergence, but I’ll be figuring that out as I go. I already have some specific ideas pertaining to my interpretation exclusively, but they need to be tested/written down before I can really apply them. I am Happy, and I’m looking forward to keeping this going.

some additional stuff I noted/had confirmed to cover later but still want to mention:

nakuri calls kayn brother! the order is (at least somewhat) familial! miss me with that ‘nobody cares abt each other in the order’ shit

is it safe to say kayn’s abilities covered in the lore/in game (the wall walking and the ability to literally enter bodies for a short time especially) are things zed is also capable of? he couldn’t have learned them from anyone but zed, right?

A Big Old Confirmation that when kayn enters another body, he can see (and subsequently feel) just as the person would be for that moment. i’d like to think that eventually, kayn can fine tune this ability and utilize it for longer durations, however i imagine there will always be a risk from it and the victim will most likely always suffer afterwards. more on that Eventually™

another Big Confirm that rhaast’s control leaves both physical and mental effects on the body (however it happens a lot faster than i originally anticipated) and the longer the usage, the more this shows in the form of carapace. i’ll also be covering this at Some Point but even in kayn’s shadow assassin form, we see that the carapace is Gone (?) but in its place are dark dark marks, implying that even once rhaast is purged, remnants of him are still there most likely because of how long he was allowed to manifest. i’m still debating if this actually would hinder kayn’s eyesight / usage of his arm for a while should he overcome rhaast.

rhaast can be heard by more than just his wielder, which is something i wasn’t thinking was possible. however, this could be a conditional thing to where either rhaast can choose who hears him or the only ones that do hear him are those susceptible to his control. either? or? the world is yet to know.

[deathscythc]

((I've actually thought about Akali and Kayn ship but I wouldn't know how they won't end up killing each other in the end))

I actually got an eye on this ship ever since Kayn’s release since it was the only one which immediately jumped into my eye when it comes to the ‘what ifs’. I have to add this now, to avoid confusion since there are several theories about Akali inside this fandom, that Akali was never part of the Order of Shadow. It’s a very popular theory (but I’ve always thought that it makes no sense, actually), but Riot just recently denied it in Kayn’s Q&A. So she had always been with the Kinkou Order. 

Akali is, just like Kayn, a prodigy. There are theories which say that both are extremely young in their respective Orders as well – something we definitely know of Kayn already, and I personally think it’s also realistic to say of Akali considering that she was a prodigy with the age of fourteen already. Technically Akali is, if not Kennen, Shen’s favorite student – similar to Kayn being Zed’s master student as of now. That alone is for me a reason to consider it as ship, it would be an interesting approach. If anything, it would be definitely interesting to see who is stronger of them – albeit my bet goes to Kayn, particularly now with the blade of millennia.

Kayn actually does not hate the Kinkou Order – which is interesting to mention since Zed still wants to kill Shen and destroy what he had rebuilt. I have mentioned as much in my ‘Sense of Justice’ headcanon already (which I should probably update to clarify a few things). The summary is that Kayn actually respects Shen for his skills – and that he does not want to kill anyone of the Kinkou Order per se. He finds no pleasure in it, as one can also view in his voice lines towards Shen, and I personally headcanon that he rather wants the Kinkou Order to be united with the Order of Shadow again, but following their teachings and not the old traditions. So I doubt Kayn would kill Akali right away, even with orders of his foster father – we have seen Kayn being disobedient once, I would not be surprised to see him being disobedient another time if he believes his own approach is more efficient. But I am not sure how Akali would feel about this – apparently she wants to kill Zed for what he had done to the Kinkou Order, but I do not know if she feels the same way about any other member of the Order. I guess it would be pretty much be up to her whether they fight or not; albeit Kayn would certainly enjoy it to finally have an worthy opponent.